


Wake up and Smell the Science

by Call_Me_Tears



Series: Torchwood P.I. [4]
Category: Torchwood
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Private Investigators, Guns, Gwenn Cooper Bashing, M/M, No Aliens, kind of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-23
Updated: 2021-01-27
Packaged: 2021-03-15 17:34:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,587
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28942284
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Call_Me_Tears/pseuds/Call_Me_Tears
Summary: As Ianto gets more and more comfortable, life feels more and more inclined to bite him in the arse.
Relationships: Jack Harkness/Ianto Jones
Series: Torchwood P.I. [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2100213
Comments: 4
Kudos: 31





	1. First Time Bumming

**Author's Note:**

> As always, this is edited by the truly beautiful [mystic-writes](https://mystic-writes.tumblr.com/). She is still editing these for me, though I have no idea why.

Ianto lies awake with Jack's arm over his naked body. He could hear Jack's quiet snores in his ear, keeping him from sleeping. Ianto shifts uncomfortably. Jack's heavy body was half laying on top of him, the two fully grown men barely able to fit on the twin sized cot. Ianto was never a prude or had any sort of aversion to sex, but next time, he would definitely ask Jack to come to his place. 

Next time. 

That scared Ianto. Would there be a next time? Ianto definitely had enjoyed himself, but this was his boss. This was the man he'd be working under. Ianto had never slept with anyone just to sleep with them. He'd always been in love. And even then he's only been in love with one person, and that was a woman. Still, Ianto had fun. He can see why people have one night stands, shag random people they meet in pubs and all that. 

But those are random people. This was his boss. 

Ianto slips out of Jack's embrace, wincing as Jack turns around and faces the wall, his arm pulling underneath himself. But he doesn't seem to wake. 

Ianto sits on the side of the bed for a moment, letting out a breath, before scrambling around the room to find his clothes that had been scattered about during their… fun. He quickly puts on his creased and ruined suit, wincing as he slides into his pants, his legs and arse still sore. His first time with a man and he got bummed. 

Ianto climbs up the ladder into Jack's office, grabbing his keys and phone before leaving. Ianto goes home, makes himself a cup of coffee, and writes down everything he did the day before. Well, almost everything. 

* * *

When Ianto goes in the next day, he can't hide the bags underneath his eyes. Or the sick churning of his stomach as he feels like he's going to throw up the four cups of coffee he's consumed this morning. He arrives before Owen and Suzie, but Tosh is at her station, doing god knows what. Ianto doesn't even want to think about it. He had a headache already blooming behind his eyes. 

Tosh looks up and smiles kindly, before that drops. 

"Ianto? Are you okay? You look knackered," she says, concerned. She starts to get up from her desk, but Ianto stops her with a hand and some quick words. 

"Yeah. Yeah. I'm fine. I just didn't sleep well last night." 

' _Or at all_ ," he thinks to himself with a grimace. 

Tosh nods and sits back down, but says, kindly, "Okay. If you need anything though, let me know." 

Ianto smiles and nods, before turning to his coffee machine. If he takes extra care to make her coffee, and he brings it over quickly so it doesn't get cold, he doesn't tell her. He doesn't need to. She knows it's his way of saying thank you. 

Ianto takes a deep breath as he takes Jack's coffee up to him, and he puts some chocolate digestives on the plate as well. 

He takes the spiral staircase up and closes his eyes, taking another breath, before going into Jack's office without even a knock. 

Jack looks up from his work immediately, and frowns. That's probably not the best response. Ianto, being as professional as he is, sets down the tray for Jack, saying simply, "Is there anything else you need, sir?" 

Jack blinks at him, before saying, "Where were you this morning?" 

"I needed some air," Ianto says, and it isn't a lie. 

Jack nods. "Did you run away?" Ianto doesn't say anything. He looks away from Jack at his brown oxfords. "Was it bad?" 

Ianto looks up at that, eyes wide, and he stutters, "No-no! It-it wasn't- I mean- well I-" Ianto takes a breath, his cheeks flaming red as he says, sheepishly, "I enjoyed it, _sir_." 

Jack grins, and gets up, walking around to Ianto. He lightly runs his calloused thumbs underneath Ianto's eyes, and says quietly, "Did you at least get some sleep?" Ianto just shakes his head, like a petulant child who doesn't want to go to bed. Jack grabs his hand, and Ianto can't help but think of how domestic this is. "Go downstairs. Take a nap. I’ll wake you when everyone gets here."

And Ianto does as he's told.


	2. PC Cooper the Cock Blocker

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edited by [mystic-writes](https://mystic-writes.tumblr.com/). To anyone who is still reading, I hope you enjoy :)

"Hello, this is Ianto with Torchwood PI. How may I help you today?" Ianto asks from his desk in the main office. He's leaning forward onto the desk, his head in his hand as he holds the phone up to his ear. 

" _ Ianto? It's PC Cooper. Is Jack there?" _ She asks and Ianto nods. 

"He's in today. I'll transfer you over," Ianto says, pressing the transfer button. 

He holds the phone to his ear for a moment, listening as Jack flirts excessively with Gwen as soon as he realizes it's her. 

Ianto hangs up on his end and leans back in his chair, rubbing his temples. He doesn't know why he felt a pang in his chest when Jack picked up the phone and started flirting. But, he can guess. Ianto isn't the jealous type. In fact, with the last person he dated, he used to get an earful for not saying he was dating her sooner and making the guy who was hitting on her go away. 

Ianto hates feeling jealous. Especially with Jack. 

He's Jack's employee, Jack is his boss. It was a mistake. What they did was a mistake. Ianto never should have slept with Jack. He has to forget about it. It can't happen again. 

But he really wants it to. 

Oh Ianto wants to so badly. Wants to feel Jack's lips against his, his hands running down his sides, when Jack touches him  _ just right _ . 

Ianto shifts in his chair and crosses his legs, willing his erection to go away. He busies himself with mundane work, sorting, filing, sorting again. But it quickly became repetitive.

So, Ianto gets up and goes to the archives. Well, he tries, but Jack stops him by shouting down at him, "Hey Ianto!" Ianto stops where he is in the middle of the hub and Suzie and Owen glare at Jack while Tosh just turns up the volume on her music. "Come here a sec, will you? I need to talk to you!" 

Ianto goes up to Jack's office, pushing open the door. 

"You called for me, sir?" Ianto asks, and Jack motions for him to sit down. Ianto does as he's asked, crossing his legs and folding his hands into his lap. 

"There's been two more murders. Same MO. She wants us to go out and investigate. Says the police are useless," Jack says, leaning back and raising an eyebrow. 

Ianto looks slightly behind Jack, not wanting to make eye contact. "And why did you want to talk to me?" 

Jack shrugs and leans forward. "We need a driver. You could bring us there. See how we work as a team. Offer some input," Jack says with a smirk. "What do you say.?"

Ianto nods. "I would be happy to sir. Is that all?" 

At this Jack frowns. "Are you alright, Ianto? You seem… well like you have a stick up your arse."

Ianto stiffens at that and says quickly, "Yes I'm fine. If that is all, I'll be going now."

"Wait, Ianto!" Jack exclaims as the Welshman goes to open the office door. Ianto looks back. "Pull the car around front at 1400."

Ianto nods and leaves. 


	3. A Harriet Situation

"So, she was found by her roommate this morning, poor thing. Name's Harriet 'Harry' James," PC Cooper says, stepping into the room near Jack. "Same strike, right to the back. Between the shoulder blades. Jack, what do you think it is?" 

Ianto looks up from the corner where he's standing, looking at PC Cooper. Ianto barely calls Jack by his first name. Usually it's just sir, or sometimes even 'Mr. Harkness' if the mood calls for it. Even in bed. 

Ianto's cheeks heat up as he thinks about their night together, and then he promptly tries  _ not  _ to think about it. He looks over at Jack, who glances at Ianto and winks before turning back to PC Cooper to peel her hands off his arms. 

"Right. Owen. Tosh. Suzie. What have we got?" Jack asks the rest of his team. Ianto watches from his corner. 

"She was stabbed in the back," Owen deadpans. 

Ianto rolls his eyes. "No shit, Sherlock."

Owen looks up at flares at Ianto. "Oh? Can you do any better, tea boy?" Ianto goes to retort, but takes a deep breath, before going back into his corner again. Owen scoffs and mutters, "That's what I thought…" 

"There's no sign of forced entry! It seems like the killer was let in, or already in the house!" Tosh calls from the front door, looking closer at the latch. 

Suzie looks closer at the wound and says definitively, "This is definitely a custom blade. Do you see the wound? It looks like a cross or like an addition sign. But two of the blades don't go all the way down to the bottom. It's definitely custom." 

"I can get some people to look into custom blades?" Gwen offers with a big, gap-toothed smile. 

Jack smiles politely and says, "Alright. The rest of you, we have work to do. Tosh, take some pictures. The rest of you, pack up and let's go."

* * *

Ianto watches from the overly large and extremely loud cog doorway that just seems so unnecessary. But, Jack is nothing if not dramatic, and the cog certainly helps everyone make an entrance. 

"Tosh, look through Harry's social media. See if you can find anything about fights or arguments." She nods and gets right to work at her computer pulling up Instagram, both posts and stories, Snapchat, Twitter, and even Facebook and Myspace, though Ianto figures she hasn't used that since she was in highschool. "Owen," Jack says, turning to the doctor. "See if you can get her medical records. Find out if she has any connection to the other victims as well." Owen nods. "And Suzie. Find out what that knife looks like. It'll be easier to find it that way." The woman nods and turns to her desk. "And Ianto?" Jack calls out to the patient man. Ianto looks up, hoping to get something exciting. "Make us some coffee will you? I'm knackered."

Ianto nods, and slumps his shoulders when Jack turns away and no one's looking. He straightens up again and makes everyone their coffee, giving them all their cups and cleaning up their rubbish before going to Jack. Jack ushers Ianto in before he can even knock. 

"Ooh, give to papa!" Jack exclaims and Ianto cringes inside. He doesn't show it on his face though. 

Jack grabs the mug from Ianto's hands and goes to take a sip. "Careful sir, that's-" Jack takes a sip and spits it out, opening his mouth and blowing on his tongue. "-hot," Ianto finishes. "Do you want me to get some water?" 

Jack shakes his head, his tongue still hanging out of his mouth. "Noh. Ith otay," he says and Ianto raises an eyebrow, reaching a hand out to push Jack's tongue back in his mouth. Jack laughs. "Ah. Thanks," he says, giving Ianto a winning smile, and Ianto battles his adrenaline as it tries to rush blood to his cheeks. Ianto Jones fails and his face turns a bright red. "Sit, sit. I want your opinion on this."

Ianto sits, but says, "But, I'm not a field agent. I'm just the tea boy. Why do you want my help?" 

Jack looks up at Ianto, and frowns. "Ianto, you're clever. Cleverer than most. Didn't you tell me that you knew everything when we first met?" Jack asks and Ianto feels his cheeks getting hotter and hotter, and heat spreading down his neck. Jack leans forward on one elbow and props his head up in his hand, smirking. "I love it when you blush. That pale skin turning red when I say or do something." 

"S-sir!" Ianto exclaims, but he looks away, unable to look his boss in the eye anymore. "You're my boss. You shouldn't be saying things like that during work…" 

"But, you enjoy it, don't you?" Jack asks and Ianto's eyes widen when he looks back at the American. 

"Yes," he says, his mouth spitting out the word before his brain has time to catch up. "I-I mean-" 

"Don't go back now, Ianto," Jack says, getting up from his desk. Ianto pushes himself back into his chair more, his eyes still wide as Jack leans over him, staring into his eyes. Ianto grips the arms of the chair tightly, but doesn't move any further away, as if Jack's eyes are entrancing him to stay in place. "You seemed to like it two nights ago…" Jack says, his lips inches from Ianto's. Ianto whispers quietly, so quietly he isn't sure if Jack even heard him, but Ianto can't tell. Just as Jack's lips bush against Ianto's, he turns his head to whisper into Ianto's ear. "Stay with me tonight."

It's less of an offer, a question, a suggestion, and more of an order. But Ianto nods, and Jack grins, nipping at Ianto's ear, before pulling away. 

"You-" Ianto pants, shifting in his chair as Jack sits back down in his. "You are  _ such _ a tease." 

Jack smirks and slides the manilla folder across his already messy desk and in front of Ianto. "Take a look at this. Tell me what you think."

Looking over it, Ianto sees some pictures of all the bodies they've found before with the exact same stab pattern, in the middle of the back. There are also photos of their flats and houses. Ianto picks up the photos, squinting at the glossies and what's in them. 

"Jack?" Ianto calls out as Jack opens the door. 

" _ Hey, you all can go home! Get some rest! We have a big day tomorrow!" _ Jack shouts, and he gets back a couple of "thank you"'s and a "finally" from Owen. Jack turns back to Ianto who's squinting at the two glossies he has in his hands. 

"Jack, come here, you need to see this," Ianto says, leaning back in his chair. Jack comes and stands right behind Ianto, leaning down over his shoulder. Ianto would be red if not for the fact that he's so focused. "Look there. Doesn't that look similar to this?" Ianto asks, pointing at something blue in one photograph that's slightly bigger in the next. "And it's in this one as well. And here too. I know it could be anything, but, look at these two. Blue ribbon with gold lettering. I can't make out what it says, but the logo in the middle. It's like a ship… some sort of old boat."

Jack leans further down, putting his hand on the chair's arm, and leaning down to get a better look. Ianto turns his head, and Jack's face is so close to his, Ianto could kiss him. "Oh. I see. Good work Ianto!" He exclaims and Ianto's eyes go wide. 

"Of course, sir. Anyone could have seen that!" Ianto says, but Jack shakes his head and looks at Ianto. 

He says, quietly, "But, not just anybody did. You did." Ianto swallows as he looks at Jack's lips. 

"Uh, should- should Tosh look into that?" Ianto asks, licking his lips nervously. 

Jack leans in slightly, and Ianto can feel his lips brush up against his boss' when the man whispers, " _ She can look at it tomorrow. _ " 

" _ But what if there's another murder?" _ Ianto asks and Jack shakes his head. 

"That is so Welsh." 

Ianto frowns. "I'm sorry?" He asks, pulling away slightly. 

"I'm trying to shag you and you're talking about murder," Jack says, rolling his eyes. 

Ianto just grabs his face and snogs him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This episode of, "Does Jack Have any Chill While at Work? More news at 11," was edited by [mystic-writes](https://mystic-writes.tumblr.com/). I put this at the end because I also wanted to say that the smut that would be here is coming out as a bonus two days after the fifth chapter is released.


	4. Inciting Incongruous Murder, Incidentally

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, the title makes no sense, it just sounded cool loll. Edited by [mystic-writes](https://mystic-writes.tumblr.com/).

The next day, Ianto got another call from Gwen, letting him know that, yes, he was right. There was another body. While Ianto was shagging Jack, the murderer had killed someone else. Ianto wanted to be furious, but thinking about the night before, about being with Jack… 

Ianto can't help but feel conflicted. 

"Same thing?" Jack asks at the man's flat, stepping around his body with PC Cooper. 

"Yup. Exact same. From behind. Cross-shaped stab wound," Cooper replies, Leaning against the wall before pushing off again, looking around, and meeting eyes with Ianto. She glares at him and he rolls his eyes and looks away. 

"Yup. She's right," Owen says, nodding. "Died at approximately 2 a.m. last night."

"Again, no forced entry," Tosh says, and Suzie produces a mock-blade. A crude, serrated blade with rough edges and scorch marks. It didn't need to be pretty. The blade itself is also quite interesting. There's three protrusions. One, the main blade, and two more sticking out the sides like the fins of a fish. 

She walks up to the body and carefully slots the blade into the man's back. "Yup. Perfect fit."

Ianto nods and walks around the body, looking for any sign of a blue ribbon. He doesn't see it in the front room, kitchen, or bedroom, but as he moves into the dining room he sees a trophy case filled with ribbons and trophies. And only one of them is blue. 

Ianto carefully lifts the top of the glass case and grabs the ribbon, stuffing it into a fake evidence bag. On the front is a ship, like Ianto saw in some of the photos from before, but there's small gold text underneath it. 

" _ Pilgrim _ " 

Ianto frowns before slipping it into his coat pocket, and walking out to the rest of the team. 

"Alright! Let's pack up and go. Get any last pictures you can, make sure you have everything," Jack says and everyone quickly packs up. Ianto walks over to where PC Cooper and Jack are talking, and he sees her hand on his arm, and she's leaning into him, whispering something. She's smirking, and her grip tightens on his arm slightly. Jack on the other hand looks bored. 

Ianto walks up and clears his throat. PC Cooper makes no indication that she heard Ianto and continues talking, but Jack looks over at him. "Yes, Ianto?" He asks, his eyes showing thanks. PC Cooper glares at Ianto and stops talking. 

"I have something I wish to discuss with you," Ianto says, and Jack practically rips his arm free of the cop's grasp, walking with Ianto into the small kitchen. 

"Thank you," Jack whispers and Ianto shakes his head. 

"I didn't do it for you," he says, but Jack smirks. Okay, so maybe he was lying a little bit. "I found the ribbon. The same as the previous murders. Something called 'Pilgrim.' I'll look into it tonight."

"Tosh can do that. You can help me…" Jack says, grabbing Ianto's hand, but he pulls away. 

"No, I want to do it. I want to be useful. And it doesn't take a computer genius to search Google. If I do need to get into anywhere I'll ask Tosh." 

Jack nods and Ianto smiles, grabbing Jack's hand and squeezing it. 

* * *

Ianto sits in the archives, pulling all the files he can find on anything called "Pilgrim". Well, he tried that at first, but everything was so messy and in all the wrong places, it was almost impossible to find anything, but after six hours of non-stop organizing, Ianto finally has the entire archives organized up to the letter 'P'. After taking a quick, and well earned coffee and wee break, Ianto went right back to finding "Pilgrim". 

Sitting at the old, rotting, wooden desk in the corner of the archives, Ianto separates the documents containing the word "Pilgrim" into three separate categories. 

1: Contains the word "Pilgrim" in reference to the Pilgrims that left England in the early 1609s. (To be refiled)

2: Contains mentions of a "Pilgrim" in regards to a pharmaceutical company that produces penicillin and adds it to medications for cheap, which also makes them less effective. Their logo is a gold ship on a blue background. 

3: Mentions both the company and the original Pilgrims that sailed from England to America all those years ago. 

There's only one in the third category. A flyer for a meeting at somewhere called "Limerick House." The meetings were for twenty years ago, but some of the victims were younger than 20. Which means, they've either switched places, or maybe, just maybe, they've been in the same place for twenty years, and Ianto might just get lucky. 

It doesn't take long to get there, and checking his pocket watch, Ianto notes the time to be 0300, meaning that any meeting that would have been there was probably gone by this point. 

It doesn't take much to break in, the old lock is easy to pick, and when he can't open the door after picking the lock, he just kicks it in, hoping no one's around. He walks into the old, red building, taking his mobile out and turning on the flash. Using it to look around, there isn't much to see. Blank red walls with peeling floral wallpaper, and a long hallway with stairs and a door at the end of it. Ianto walks towards the door, grabbing for a weapon before cursing under his breath. 

" _ Shit _ ," he mutters, before gripping his phone tighter, deciding he'd use it if he had to. Slowly opening the door, he sees another plain room, but this time, there are chairs in a circle. That's not the odd thing, Ianto notes. The odd thing is the empty, bloody, hospital beds pushed along the far wall away from any windows. Ianto starts walking over to them, but something gleams out of the corner of his eyes. Looking to his right, he sees a glass case, much like the ones in the houses, filled with knick knacks, and, most notably, photos. 

Moving closer, Ianto can make out the photos, and the faces that populate them. The first one looks really old, and not well taken care of. It's hard to make out the multitude of faces populating the photograph at such a distance, making it impossible to actually make out any faces. The photograph next to it, however, is easier to make out. 

There's about half as many people in it, all standing close together, and while in the previous photo everyone was at least smiling, in this one, everyone's faces are stoic, unmoving. Ianto almost thinks they're sad. 

He frowns as he sees two, almost too familiar faces, staring back at him. Moving to the third picture, a dark haired man and a blonde woman have left, as well as a few other faces. The next one, everyone has left but a woman in her twenties, the same woman from the previous photographs, and a man, also from previous photographs, but not the familiar man. The next three photographs slowly start to gain colour as well as members that seem to never age. 

Until the newest photograph. Ianto recognizes the faces of the victims they had been investigating. Ianto sees the men and women who have been killed, and his stomach starts to churn. 

And that's when he notices the three pronged dagger resting in the case, still muddy red with blood. 


	5. Use a Bloody Knife in a Gunfight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is fucking crazy, so please enjoy. Bonus chapter will be released on Friday. Edited by [mystic-writes](https://mystic-writes.tumblr.com/).

"I knew it was only a matter of time before you figured it out," Someone says from behind Ianto. He whips around and sees Suzie standing there, both her hands tightly gripping the straps of her purse. "You're clever, Ianto. Cleverer than anyone else in the stupid little play-police."

Ianto frowns as Suzie looks over at the case. Ianto takes a step closer to it, and she smiles. 

"That first picture. I remember when we took it. 1840, June. It was way too hot to be outside, but we all endured it." Ianto's eyes widen at Suzie's words, but he doesn't say anything. "That was before I met Jack. The next photo we took wasn't until 1890. See that little boy there?" Suzie points at the photograph, having stepped closer to it during her monologuing. "We found him running through the streets. His parents had left him after he had gotten his brother lost during their trip. Found him on Boeshane Avenue. It's not called that anymore, obviously. Not very Welsh."

"I'm sorry, when was this?" Ianto cuts in, but Suzie just keeps talking. 

"He was the only one we managed to get it to work on! For some reason we couldn't ever seem to replicate it. Not all the way at least," Suzie says, looking over at the knife. "They were having side effects, nasty, terrible side effects. People were going to start to notice. That knife used to mean something. But I got desperate."

Suzie takes a step forward and Ianto steps away from her, her eyes wild and her face red. Ianto's back hits the glass and Suzie looks away from him for a moment. "Hold on…" she says, fumbling around in her purse. Ianto slides the glass open slightly, grabbing the handle of the knife and pulling it out behind his back, before closing it again softly, so as not to make any noise. 

But then Suzie pulls out a gun. 

"There," she says, putting her bag down. "I'm really, really sorry, Ianto. I truly am. But, no one can know about this. I'm sorry."

Ianto's breath catches in his lungs and he glances over Suzie's shoulder as the door opens slowly. He glances away and Suzie's eyes narrow. 

"It never worked fully on me, not the way it was supposed to. But, that doesn't mean it didn't work entirely. So, I know when there's someone behind me." Suzie whips around, angling the gun, and fires a shot right through Jack Harkness' head. 

" _ NO!" _ Ianto screams, dashing forward. The determined look on his face, and the tears in his eyes make it hard to see what he's doing, but when he knocks Suzie to the ground, he almost doesn't realize the knife he was holding is now in her chest. She goes to shoot him as well, but he grabs the gun and throws it across the room. 

And at that point, Ianto's eyes widen and he gets up from off her, pulling the knife out along with him. 

"No, no, no, what have I done?" He asks, dropping the knife to the floor. "Jack!" He exclaims, as if remembering his boss and lover is dead not three feet away. Ianto scrambles over to him, slipping on Suzie's blood and slamming his knees and hand into the ground. Ianto doesn't even react as he claws his way over, picking up Jack from the ground, and screaming. 

" _ NO! WHY!"  _ Ianto leans down as he begins to cry, his shoulders shaking, and he rests his head in the crook of Jack's neck. His face is almost unrecognizable, the blood from the bullethole in the middle of his forehead spilling down his face and neck, and when Ianto sniffs, he doesn't smell Jack anymore. Just blood. 

"What am I going to do?" Ianto mutters to himself, into Jack's bloody shoulder, not caring how much of Jack's blood he gets on himself. Ianto Jones has no fucking idea what to do with the two dead bodies whose blood he is now covered in, when one of the bodies gasps away in his arms. 


End file.
